Flying Across the Finish Line
by lifeinpages
Summary: The team meets a young girl with some strange origins. Will helping her destroy the team and possibly get some of them killed or will it prove to be their best decision to date? Rated T for language & minor violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is my first fanfiction piece. Please leave reviews so I improve later on. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy it!**

"Tuna on white, no crust, right?" Mia asks, pretending to focus on her notebook.

"I don't know. How is it?" Brian returns as he flips open a magazene.

"Every day for the last three weeks you've been coming in here and asking me how the tuna is. Now, it was crappy yesterday, it was crappy the day before, and guess what?" She sends him a dry look, "Hasn't changed."

"I'll have the tuna," Brian smirks, turning another page.

"No crust?"

"No crust." Mia sets about making his sandwich. Behind her, Dom rises and grabs a drink, staring Brian down. Still, he returns to his work as Mia passes Brian his tuna sandwich.

"Thank you," he mutters, digging in as she gives him a doubtful look. She snags his magazene and flips a few pages, glancing at the car parts held within its pages. Then, a sound catches their attention. A girl, maybe seventeen years of age, drops from the roof onto the pavement in front of the entrance.

"You have tuna?" She asks, her voice barely audible. Her matte black clothes and matching waist-length hair make her practically disappear as she steps through into the dim lighting of Toretto's Café. Though it is darker, she neglects to remove the solid black sunglasses covering her eyes.

"I do. Do you want a sandwich?" Mia moves as if to make another. The girl's hesitant voice stops her.

"I dont have much money. How much would a can of tuna be? Not a sandwich," her head hangs low, avoiding their gaze.

"It's a dollar, with tax," Mia leans over the counter, watching the short, skinny wisp of a girl. She looks as if she hasn't eaten in weeks and her clothing appears worn and old upon closer inspection. Her hand reaches into the pocket of her leather jacket, drawing out a dollar bill and a quarter.

"This is enough?" She holds it out hesitantly, as if she doesn't want to give it up.

"Yes, it is." Mia gently takes the money and hands back her change before grabbing a can of the crappy tuna and a fork. Both Brian and Dom watch her warily, Brian with the critical, assessing gaze of a cop and Dom with the wary, knowing look of a criminal. Still, all three have come to the same conclusion: the girl is a run-away. She devours the terrible food, packing it all away within mere moments.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Mia presses when the girl turns as if to leave. She tenses and flinches away, further into the shadows lining the wall. As she does, cars zoom into the parking spots outside, unloading Letty, Vince, Leon, and Jesse. The girl takes their momentary distraction to start to run off, but Vince grabs her arm, assuming she's a thief. He expects her to fight, and she does, but not in the way he believes she will. Instead of swinging wildly and attempting to rip her arm from his grip, she leans back and flashes her teeth, which aren't normal. Then, in a move only seen in movies, she spins into him, leaning against his chest, and does a backwards sumersault up and over his shoulder. This efectively removes her from his grip, but by this point, Dom has come around the counter and is ready to help. He grabs one arm and Vince takes the other. Gently, they pull her back into the café before she can object. The whole group blocks the only exit.

"Answer the question," Dom orders. "We won't hurt you. And while you're at it, take the glasses off."

"No," she hisses, adjusting her stance into a defensive pose.

"We only want to know your name, that's all. There's no need to fight," Mia cuts in, knowing if she lets Dom control this interrogation, they'll never get her name out of her.

"If I tell you, will you let me go?"

"Only if you're honest," Brian jumps in, "and we'll know if you aren't."

"In that case, I'll just go."

"I saw your teeth, girl. Those weren't human. What are you?" Vince makes his own contribution to the conversation, drawing confused looks from his companions, who turn back to watch the girl's reaction. She hisses, her lips pulling back to reveal sharp, pointed teeth and elongated canines, like fangs.

"You want to know?" She snarls with a low growl. One hand snakew up to remove her glasses, revealing icy-blue eyes. But they, too, aren't human; they have long pupils, like a cat's or snake's. "Fine. I was designed in a lab. I don't have a name because they never expected me to survive. I was scheduled to be killed a few weeks back so i busted out, finally realizing what i was to them. And now I'm here, which means they're not far behind. You'll all die if they find you anywhere near me. Will you let me leave now?" Her arms cross across her chest and she tilts her head at them. Mia and Letty look to Dom pleadingly, their faces saying that they don't want to let her leave.

"No, you aren't leaving. We're going to give you a name and a place to stay. We aren't scared of whoever is chasing you," Dom declares. "Mia, why don't you take her to get some new clothes and such. While you're doing that, help her come up with a lost of names she likes."

"Okay, Dom." Mia grabs a set of car keys and her purse but freezes when Brian says, "Thanks for the sandwich, Mia. See you tomorrow." Vince storms out of the café after him, shouting that he should just go to Fat Burger instead. Vince shoves Brian, who swings at his face. Before long, the two are in a full-blown fight, much to Mia's horror.

"Dom, would you get out there, please? I'm sick of this shit." He doesn't move to stop the fight, so she tries again, "Dom!" When he still doesn't respond, Letty steps in, calling his name in an exhasperated voice that gets him on his feat and heading towards the brawlers. Jesse and Leon are watching with bemused interest, but the unnamed girl's head is cocked, her eyes critical and slightly confused. When Dom rips vince away and tells Brian not to come back, she speaks.

"Why did you fight?"

"Oh, well, Vince," Brian gestures to the other man, "doesn't want me around, but I keep showing up, so he thought he'd convince me not to come back by roughing me up a bit." Her eyebrows crinkle as she considers his reasoning.

"I suppose that makes sense. Like fighting over territory. I understand that. But, then, why was he doing such a poor job of it?" The group laughs as Vince's face turns beet-red.

"Sweetie, i dont know where you're from, but here, that'd be considered a pretty decent job of beating me up." Vince seems to relax a bit at Brian's admission.

"Really? But there's so much he could've done differently; better."

"How about this: when you've got your name and some new clothes, we'll all sit down and you can tell us what you think we should've done better. Alright?" Brian looks her in the eye, waiting for her agreement. She nods, not breaking eye contact and Mia steps forward to sweep her away to her first-ever shopping trip


	2. Chapter 2

"So," Mia begins as they linger at a stop light, "Do you have any names you've been thinking about?"

"I'm partial to the name Mavis, but then I need a middle and last name."

"Okay, so how about I list a few names. Do you want it to start with a certain letter?"

"Could the middle name start with an 'm' as well?" Mia nods and starts ticking names off, all begining with 'm.' The newly-named Mavis stops her at Marie.

"Mavis Marie. I like that. It's pretty," she murmurs.

"And, it sounds like a whole name. You could just have Marie be your last name and leave out a middle name," Mia points out.

"I think I will. Adding anything else would just mess it up."

"Right," Mia smiles, pressing the gas gently. They enter a parking lot to a shopping mall. "What colors do you typically wear?"

"Black, dark blue, indigo. Anything thick & dark. And I always wear my leather jacket. There's no changing that," Mavis sends a warning glance to Mia, daring her to try to take it away.

"Alright. What about bras and underwear? Do you have any of those?"

"I have a small bag of extra bras, socks and underwear in the place I've been staying, but I could use a few more pairs of underwear."

"So we'll get those first, pick up a few pairs of pants and some dark shirts. Maybe we'll even find some cute accessories. We can use those to add some bright colors, if you'd like." Mavis appears to hesitate as Mia pulls into a parking spot.

"I don't wear light color shirts because my torso is black, like my hair, and shows through anything thats too light." She glances over towards her new friend, uncertain of what her reaction will be, and fingers the sunglasses in her lap.

"That makes sense. So, let's go get you some clothes!" Mia jumps out of the car, happy to be able to do some shopping, and watches as Mavis slides the glasses back on. "You don't have to wear those, you know," She comments.

"But my eyes will scare people," the girl says, confused.

"They'll assume they're contacts. It'll be fine. It's better than scaring people because you won't take your glasses off," Mia argues, earning a sigh from Mavis. Still, the shorter girl takes them off and tucks them into her jacket. "Much better," Mia smiles, "let's go!" Mia drags the poor girl through the shops, loading her arms down with doezens of shirts, four pairs of pants, and even a few skirts and dresses. Hair accessories are tossed into the mix, along with necklaces, belts, and bracelets; even some make-up finds its way into the pile. Finally, five new shoes are added to their already-full arms. Mave- as Mia nicknamed her- smiles to herself as they exit the store. She has a friend- multiple friends, in fact! Sure, they don't know everything about her & they're really only helping out of pity, but they're nice. And, Mave realizes, Mia was right.

Not once, in any of those stores, did people scream and run when they saw her eyes. The thought brings a new smile to her face. Maybe the world isn't all bad.

"Are you interested in seeing some of the nightlife out here?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's going to be a race tonight, one that's not entirely legal, and I want to know if you'll go with us."

"I think I will." _Besides_ , Mave adds in her mind, _even if I don't like it there, I can just leave. No one will ever know_ "Who will be there?"

"From our team? All of us: Dom, Jesse, Leon, Vince, Letty, and I. But there'll be tons of other people, as well. It just depends on the night."

"Oh. Okay. I'd like to see what this is," Mave murmurs, "is what i'm wearing alright?" Mia laughs.

"It'd be okay if you were a guy, but they expect girls to wear a ton less at these things. Letty and I will help you pick something out." Mave nods, not quite understanding why it matters that she's a girl. They pull into the driveway to Mia's house and lug everything up to the guest room, where Mave will be staying.

"We can put it all away later. For now, let's just get you ready." Mia grabs one of the skirts, a mid-thigh length denim one Mave had objected to buying, but that Mia had gotten anyway. A pair of knee-high boots with a short heel come out next, as well as a low cut black top. She adds a studded belt to the outfit and sends Mave to get dressed.

 _This is all surreal. I can't believe this us happening, but I wouldn't change it for the world._ She strips off the clothes she's wearing and checks the straps on her "bra." Then, she pulls on the new outfit and her old leather jacket  & looks in the mirror. She looks better, nicer, but something is still missing. But what? She adds some of the make up and ties her hair into a simple braid. The black kohl around her eyes emphasizes their blue color- and, consequently, the odd shaped pupil. Mavis Marie smiles into the mirror, her fangs retracted and her pupils widened into their alternate form, almost completely overtaking her iris. Trust for these new people would be a long time coming, but she has no doubts that these people would protect her as if she was one of their own. And she would do the same for them.


	3. Chapter 3

How on Earth did she get seperated from them? Dom told Jesse to stay right next to her after the first guy who approached her wouldn't back off. And still, here she is, alone in this place with too strong of sounds and flashing lights and too many scents. The chaos begins to wind down as Mave watches from the dark corner she hid in. When everyone is gone, she steps out and pulls off her jacket and shirt, allowing her special secret to unravel from around her. In the center of the street, she hooks the tops over her arm and opens her wings. With one hard beat, she is soaring above the streets, invisible in the night sky thanks to her dark hair, wings, and clothes. She locates the car Brian lost to Dom within a minute & follows as it is surrounded by motorcycles. Once the motorcycles leave, she circles closer and closer to the ground. Her wide, circular pupils are perfect for watching the ground in the dark, thanks to some of the genes she has from an owl. Before she lands, though, two morotcycles return and start shooting the car.

"No!" She cries and falls into a dive, snatching the guns from their hands. The damage to the car is still extensive, but at least it didn't blow up. The cyclists stare in horror, then self-preservation kicks in as she aims the guns, pretending to be ready to shoot. They vanish into the night as quick as they can.

"Mave?" Dom calls, his voice colored with confusion.

"Yes, it's me. I'm sorry I couldn't save your car. The damage is very extensive." Mave sets the guns down cautiously, hoping to seem like less of a threat. Her wings curl up behind her, like you would see in paintings of angels.

"It can be repaired." Dom assures her, "by you, Brian." The undercover rolls his eyes, but says nothing. "Why didn't you tell us about the wings earlier?"

"I wasn't sure how you would react. I didn't want to freak you out."

"Fair enough. Now, we have to get home. Come on, hop in." Dom gestures to the practically destroyed car, but Mave shakes her head.

"I'll fly back, if you don't mind. I haven't had the opportunity in about a week and need to stretch."

"Do you remember how to get back?" Brian questions.

"I'll stay above your car, for the most part. I do like to fly fast, so I'll probably veer offcourse every once in a while, then swing back around to find you again."

"Just stay safe," Dom orders and she nods, a small smirk on her face. Once they're in the car (luckily, it still drives) and safely on the road, Mave extends her wings and shoots into the sky, dropping the guns on a nearby rooftop. She twists, locates the neon green car, and flies in circles high above it the entire drive to the house. A party is raging inside. Angry, Dom yells to Brian to come inside and get a drink. When he does, there is quite a bit of opposition from the other teammates. Was I mistaken? Is Brian not part of the team?

"Mave? Where have you been?" Mia cries, after Dom divulges most of what happened.

"I followed their car. That's another secret I'll tell you later." Mia's eyes narrow on her, but the wide blue eyes blink innocently, quickly disipating any suspicion the older girl may have had. The party continues loudly around us for many more hours. At some point, Mave excuses herself to enjoy the quiet environment of her new room. She spends some time packing away all the clothes and smoothing the wrinkles on the bedspread. When she runs out of other things to do, she takes a shower, scrubbing her hair and taking great care while rubbing the dirt out of her wings. While the wings are shaped like a hawk's, the feathers are more goose-like, allowing them to safely get wet with little preening necessary afterwards. Once she's dressed in one of her special bras that look more like tanktops, she settles on the bed with a towel to work all the water out of her wings. The process can take up to an hour before it is safe to put a shirt on over them, which is why she never showers in the mornings. As she finishs drying the tip of her right wing, a knock comes at the door.

"Mave? May we come in?" Mia's voice is muffled by the door, although Mave's super-sensitive ears would have had no trouble hearing her soft words from across the house.

"Thats fine," she replies and the door opens, allowing all six of the team members (Brian is gone) to see her black as pitch wings. They all freeze, eyes wide and jaws on the floor; all except for Dom, that is.

"So- that's your big secret," Mia mutters before taking a seat at the foot of the bed. The others take up spots around the room.

"What do you need?" Mave asks, slowly dabbing at another feather.

"Well, Mia said you had a secret, so we all came up to see what it was," Jesse responds.

"Is there anything else we need to know about?" Vince practically growls. Instead of speaking, she holds up one hand allowing a set of claws to extend and her pupils to widen. "Of course there was," he grumbles. The claws disappear and her eyes relax back to normal. She continues to tap at the feathers.

"Do you want any help with that?" Jesse offers out of the blue. Her eyes snap to his, shock clear on her face.

"Um, sure. I guess, if you want. You just have to be really careful." She gestures for him to grab the other towel next to her on the bed and he mimiks how she brushes the feathers off.

"How fast can you fly?" Letty wonders aloud.

"I've hit the sound barrier once or twice, but it takes a ton of momentum and usually only happens when I'm on a huge adrenaline rush," Mave answers casually, as if it's the most natural thing in the world. Everyone turns to her, again, with their jaws on the floor.

"And how fast can you go without the adrenaline?" Jesse digs.

"Faster than the cars you were racing today," she shrugs, "I never asked what the exact mph was. It never really mattered to me."

"So, faster than 150, at least," Mia says, watching the new girl with a mix of appreciation and apprehension on her face. "I take it the people hunting you aren't likely to ever give up. You are quite a prize."

"No," Mave shakes her head, "they won't give up, but they don't see me as a prize. I'm just an expirament to them. I have no mother or father; I was born from an artificial womb. My genes were spliced together from dozens of different animals to get the appearance you see today. But i'm still a mistake. I was supposed to have no emotions. They couldn't figure out which gene it was and it didn't work. Instead, they decided to test all my abilities and then kill me." Mave tilts her head to one side, eyes glazed slightly in memory. "They were told to 'terminate' my experiment. I decided that I didn't want to die and escaped. So they don't want me back to keep, they simply want to kill me." Mia reaches out and places a comforting hand on her arm while Jesse silently continues to work on her wing, the gentle motions more comforting than he could ever imagine. Vince, Leon, and Letty all look to Dom to see his reaction.

"We won't let them kill you," he swears, "we'll keep you safe." Mave smiles softly at him.

"I will return the favor, when applicable," she murmurs, offering a slight bow of her head in respect of his decision. He reciprocates and leads the group, excluding Jesse, from the room.

"So, you're into cars," Mave says in a lame attempt to start a conversation.

"Yeah, I've been working with engines for a long time."

"Why cars? May I ask that?"

"Of course you can," he says, practically offended that she would think there would be a question she couldn't ask. "I have ADHD. I flunked outta school. Hated it. Something about engines, just, calms me down."

"Like flying for me," Mave smiles at him, her perfect teeth flashing.

"How much weight can you carry when you fly?"

"I've sucessfully carried another person before. It slowed me down considerably, but was still pretty fast."

"How fast?"

"'Bout 50 mph, I think. I don't know exactly."

"So, do you have to do this every night?"

"Every time I take a shower, yeah. I try to shower every other evening, but some days, I can't wait. My senses are quite a bit stronger than the average human's and I can't stand not smelling nice."

"That makes sense. I'd imagine smelling even slightly bad would be seriously agitating. Was the party too loud tonight? And what about at the race? Was it too loud or sensory-overloading?"

"Hey, relax. If it got to be too much, I'd have left to fly around. I can tune most of it out, thanks to quite a bit of practice."

"What about your vision? How good is that?"

"I can see when it's practically pitch black & can see about one and a half times further than a hawk. Some attributes of different animals got super-charged because of the context in my DNA. I was never taught a lot about it, so I can't explain everything."

"That's still really cool. And I take it you can run really fast, too?"

"Yep, almost as fast as a panther, only a few mph slower, thanks to being a biped. What's your family like?"

"This is my family. Dom, Letty, Leon, Vince and Mia. And now you, I guess."

"I hadn't thought of this as a family yet, more just as a group of friends."

"It's all up to you. We'll be your family if you choose to stay and support everyone as much as they support you." They work in silence for a little while before reaching the base of her wings. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Jesse checks.

"Yes," Mave says confidently, "I'll still be here."

"Can you do one thing for me? I'd like a hug, with the wings," Jesse requests, and Mave complies, wrapping both her arms and wings around him in a warm, soft hug. He presses his cheek against the top of her head while she snuggles against his chest. "I need to go," he whispers, "if I don't leave now, I don't think I'll have the will to later."

"What do you mean?"

"You're a beautiful girl, Mavis Marie. I like you and I'd like to get to know you better, but you aren't ready for that. I'll wait until you are," he promises, "and then, we'll try being a couple, alright?"

"Alright," Mave agrees, a goofy smile on her face. She'd seen a few movies by sneaking into the theaters and knew a few things about love and romance. She had longed for her own chance at love for since that first movie three months back, when she first learned something like that exists. Jesse presses a kiss to the top of her head and she releases him, watching him walk out before collapsing face-first on her bed with a squeal. Sleep came easily and quickly that night and was filled with pleasant dreams.


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh, hell no," Vince cries when he sees Brian, shoving his bags at Leon.

"Hey, we could use a hand," Dom shouts.

"Seems like you've got all the hands you need, brother," Vince calls back, hopping into his car and driving off. The others continue working, cooking and setting the table, before sitting down to eat. Jesse snags a piece of chicken, drawing Dom's attention.

"Because you were the first one to reach in and grab the chicken, you can say grace," he announces.

"Dear heavenly..." Jesse starts, after a moment of annoyed resistance, then hesitates.

"Spirit," Leon supplies.

"Spirit, thank you," Jesse mutters before going on to thank the 'heavenly spirit' for a long list of car parts the team had recently recieved. "And," he adds, "for new family members." Everyone says 'amen' and digs into the food. When Vince reappears, he gives Dom a kiss on the top of his head before taking a seat and a pile of food. The meal passes quickly, the light, happy conversations about cars and Brian's work enthralling Mave, though most of it passes over her head. As she helps wash the dishes later, Vince enters the room, a look of total amusement on his face.

"Wash my car when you're done," he snickers.

"Excuse me!" Mia cries, angry at his comment.

"Not you, Mia," he mutters, turning to Brian, "Wear your favorite dress, while you're at it, 'cuz when you're done, I'll put you back on the street where you belong." Mave watches silently, noticing something change in Mia's eyes.

"Hey, Vince? What was that resturaunt you wanted to take me to? The mexican one with the little candles?" She walks over and looks up into his eyes. Mave inhales slowly, through her nose, opening her mind to her enhanced senses completely. Anger drifts off of Brian, happiness and confidence from Vince, and interest laced with a subtle rage wafts off Mia.

"Cha-cha-cha?"

"Yeah, Cha-Cha-Cha." She smiles softly and spins to face Brian, who watches with interest, his anger fading to the background. "Well, you can take me. Friday at ten o'clock work for you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Friday at ten," he agrees, challenging Vince with his eyes. Jealousy combines with rage and the new scent comingn from Vince makes Mave flinch back into the counter. She crinkles her nose and blocks off the extra senses, but Vince notices and glares at her before storming from the room and yelling at Jesse to "make his own damn popcorn."

"Hey, what'd you do to piss Vince off?" He complains, slipping the popcorn into the microwave and starting it.

"It was just an argument," Mia mutters, downplaying the situation. Mave's eyebrows crinkle, but she says nothing. Jesse glances at her and notes the look on her face, obviously understanding that there's more to the situation than Mia's letting on.

"I noticed you looked a bit confused today at dinner while we were discussing some car stuff. Want me to explain some of it to you?" Mave perks up.

"Yes, please. I'd like to understand what you're talking about. It's driving me nuts," she complains, earning soft chuckles from everyone in the room.

"Come on, then. We get the popcorn and the computer," Jesse grins wickedly and leads the way.

"I thought they wanted popcorn," Mave mutters.

"They can get their own damn popcorn," Jesse chuckles, copyinng Vince's line. Mave laughs, the sound high and clear, completely contradicting her dark & mysterious appearance. Then, Jesse gets to work, pulling up images and explaining car parts and functions to her. After a little while, he excuses himself for a moment and returns with a gift bag.

"What's that?" Mave asks.

"Something I noticed you didn't have," Jesse says cryptically. Mave opens the bag and pulls out multiple t-shirts with completely open backs that would allow her to have her wings out even with the shirt on.

"Oh, my gosh! These are great!" She squeals, hugging him tightly.

"I noticed you still had to take your overshirt off whenever you wanted to fly. I thought you could use these, you know, whenever you're at the house or want to fly or whatever."

"They're perfect," she grins, earning a return smile.

"So," Jesse starts, "you've been here for a few weeks now." It's been two or three, Mave believes, but she usually follows time based off the moon's cycle, not the days of the week, like most people do. "I know I said I'd give you time before I started anything," he says, " so I wanted to ask if it's been enough time for you." Mave looks up into his eyes, searching them for the answer she wants. Is he truly invested in her, or is it just her uniqueness? She settles on a little bit of both, of course. Anyone who would date her would have to appreciate her differences and be able to enjoy them.

"Yes, it has," she whispers and his smile is blinding. Sure, that first day, she had thought he was a hit ahead of himself after helping her dry her wings. Not in the moment, of course, but later, when she reflected on it, but since then, he's been the perfect gentleman, giving her tiny trinkets, offering to help her with things, and giving her compliments on everything.

"Would you- would you mind taking your wings out?" She does as he asks, slipping the uncomfortable top over her head and unraveling the long, black wings. He pulls her close to him and she wraps him into a hug, her wings surrounding both of them with warmth. He leans in, giving her plenty of time to back away, but instead she waits and opens her senses. She smells his nerves and excitement and even the tang of adrenaline. His soft cologne covers the emotions slightly, but not conpletely. Then his lips meet hers and everything else vanishes; the sound of their fast heartbeats, his emotions, the people in the other room. All she knows is his scent and smell, sweet and smooth, with a subtle spice underneath it all. Then, the moment is broken: someone has thrown open the door and lets out a catcall. Mave spins in an instinctual move, pushing Jesse back with one wing and shooting towards the intruder. Before she causes any injury, though, she sees that it's just Brian and backs off.

"Don't sneak up on me," she warns, "had I not noticed who you were when I did, you could have been seriously hurt."

"Got that," Brian agrees, hands up in a universal sign of surrender.

"Isn't it usually the guy who protects the girl?" Jesse complains.

"No, it's the stronger of the pair. And I may not look it, but I promise you, I'm stronger," Mave explains, backing off Brian and slipping an arm around Jesse's waist.

"Okay. I won't argue. That was super cool," Jesse laughs softly, the kid in him coming out for a moment. Mave rolls her eyes and glares at Brian, "out."

"Of course," he agrees imediately, slipping from the room to leave them in peace, although the mischevious gleam in his eye doesn't exactly reassure Mave. "No one go into the office!" They hear Brian announce with a laugh, "It's intense in there." The others all laugh.

"Well, if we're not going to be interrupted," Jesse murmurs before leaning in to kiss Mave again. Minutes pass- flying by, really- before they pull apart. Jesse says something about needing to leave when he hears the rumble of cars outside. Mave nods her understanding reluctantly and watches him leave.

"Did you really kiss him?" Mave turns to find Mia standing behind her, Letty watching with interest from a few feet away. Mave blushes slightly, more embarassed that they'd been told than that she'd been caught with Jesse.

"Yes, I did." Her eyes flicker between both types of pupils, revealing her uncertainty to anyone who knows her tells; Mia and Letty are not included in that small number of people. "Is that not okay?"

"No, sweetie," Mia assures her, "it's fine. Just don't rush into anything you're not sure you want."

"I'm sure I want to know what will happen if I'm with him. I'm sure I want to know where it will lead. Is that enough to be sure about?" Mia smiles at her, pleased with her response.

"Yes, it most definitely is."


	5. Chapter 5

"Mia? Would you help me pick out an outfit?" Mave says hesitantly Friday evening, "Jesse asked if we could go for dinner tonight and I don't know what to wear." Mia squeals, "Of course! I know exactly which shirt you should wear. Come on!" She drags Mave to her room and pulls down a low-cut, short-sleeved shirt in a rich purple color. Two skirts follow: one black and one dark gray. With a pair of black booties, Mia sends mave off to the bathroom to try the outfits on. They end up choosing the black skirt, saying it would go best with her jacket. Once she's dressed, Mave takes a few minutes to put on some make-up. With light eyeliner, mascara, and pink lipgloss, her goal of accenting her eyes and mouth is easily achieved.

"So, what are you wearing for your date with Brian tonight?"

"I'm not sure if I want to wear a skirt or a dress."

"I can't wear dresses. Are they comfortable?"

"I suppose. Guys typically like them."

"That means Brian will, right?" Mia laughs at Mave's reasoning, but concedes the point. She grabs all her dresses and immediately puts two back. The remaining three are the only ones even remotely date-appropriate. One's a pretty blue, another is pink-ish, and the last is green.

"The blue and the green are pretty, they'd look nice with your eyes, but the other is going to bring out your coloring more. It'll look really good with your skin and hair and, incidentally, your eyes."

"You're sure?"

"If you're not comfortable with it, don't wear it, but I think you'll look best in the pink one." Mave leans back on Mia's bed, watching her internal debate. Finally, Mia decides to trust Mave and puts on the dress. They add in a cute pair of sandals and light make-up. The result is stunning.

"Brian won't know what hit him. You look amazing!"

"So do you! If Jesse isn't treating you like a lady, you just fly off. You look too beautiful for him to treat you as anything less."

"Ditto. Minus the flying part," Mave giggles, inciting soft laughter in Mia as well. Theur eyes clash as they hear the doorbell ring. Who's date is it? They both run to the door, but Mia is the one to throw it open and reveal her man for the night.

"Hi, Mia. Wow. You look-" He grins, seemingly lost for words, "amazing," he finally finishes. "As do you, Mave. Jesse asked you out, right?"

"Yeah. For dinner, but he wouldn't say where." Brian's smile chamges to a smirk.

"I think you'll like it. He was talking about it at the garage today when Mia and Letty weren't there."

"That little sneak!" Mia cries, causing them all to laugh for a few moments.

"Go on, now. Have fun," Mave shoos them out the door and settles in the living room, her eyes closed as she listens for the roar of Jesse's car. She only has to wait a few minutes before he pulls up. It takes all her self control to not open the door before he rings the bell, but she manages.

"Hi," she smiles as she sees him, "you look really nice." Her head tilts, pupils flashing, as she takes in his nice slacks and blue button-down.

"So do you," he returns, "That color looks great on you." He offers her his arm and escorts her to the car as she pushes down the flutter of disappointment at his reaction. She had hoped it'd be like Mia's. "We're going to an Italian resturaunt, if that's alright with you."

"Italian is pasta, right?" Jesse chuckles.

"Yes, but they make other things, too."

"I haven't tried much, so I wouldn't know what I like beyond the basic pasta dishes."

"Then I guess I'll just have to recommend my favorites." He pulls into a parking lot and opens Mave's door for her. Once inside, he speaks softly to the hostess for a moment and she leads them to a table for two by the windows. The meal, overall, is pleasant, although they don't talk too much. Still, when they arrive back at the house, they do end up making out for a bit. Mave, however, senses something is missing, but decides that she'll figure it out later.

"Goodnight, Mavis Marie," Jesse finally whispers against her lips.

"Goodnight, Jesse," she responds, slipping inside and heading to bed. Maybe it will look different in the morning. And when she opens her eyes to the rising sun, she realizes it does look different: it feels even more incorrect. She growls softly and pulls out one of Jesse's no-back t-shirts and a pair of shorts before opening the window and climbing up to the roof. The sun is still too low for any human to notice her, thankfully, and she leaps into the air. Clouds wrap around her and she welcomes the cold water against her face. She flies until a forest begins below her. On silent feet, she lands and crouches, her hunger finally registering in her busy mind.

'What could it hurt? I haven't hunted anything recently. They won't know it's me,' Mave thinks before opening her senses and starting to run. It isn't long before she has a decent amount of food in her stomach and she lifts back into the air to fly home. By the time she reaches the house, the sun is up high in the sky; she guesses that it's around eight.

'How do I land without anyone noticing me?' She starts to circle lower, dropping below the clouds, but even as she dies, the sound of an airplane echoes behind her, almost close enough for the humans on board to see her. With a flinch, she shoots into a dive and plummets to Earth. She only opens her wings when they are covered by the house- they pull painfully- but it does the trick. No one sees her as she touches down and runs inside. She runs to her bedroom to put on an outfit for the day, not noticing the odd quiet filling the house. When she returns downstairs, however, it is glaringly obvious.

'I'm so stupid! How could I have missed that?' Mave berates herself silently.

"Mia? Letty? Dom?" She calls, hoping they're alright.

"Hey, Mave," Letty responds, exiting the kitchen, "I wouldn't go in there right now. Mia's not too happy with Dom right now."

"Why not?"

"Well, Dom wanted to make sure Brian isn't a cop, but didn't tell Mia. She found out this morning and isn't happy with his methods." Letty shrugs. "Dom did what he thought was right. I probably would've done the same in his place."

"He wanted to protect her, right?" Mave asks, "and the rest of the team, too, of course."

"Exactly. Mia will see that, too. Eventually." Letty shrugs. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"I already ate," Mave tries to hide her grimace.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I went flying this morning. I grabbed something on my way back." 'Please drop it. Don't ask what I ate.'

"Alright. I'm gonna go try to break 'em up. Otherwise they'll go on like this for a while."

"'Kay." Mave hesitates. "Letty? Do you think you could teach me to drive?"

"Of course. Even if it isn't me, one of us will. Why don't you come to the garage with us today? We'll work on it then." Letty vanishes back into the kitchen once Mave nods her agreement.

'So what do I do now?' Mave wonders. 'I guess I should just wait.' Mave settles in, listening to the argument, and toying with her claws. Extend, retract, repeat. Extend, retract, repeat.


	6. Chapter 6

So, I know you're hoping for another chapter, but I can't figure out where to take Mave next. I'm trying to follow the movie as much as possible, but even that doesn't seem to be helping. If any of you have anything you want to see, please let me know and I'll try to work it in. I really appreciate the help! Writer's block _sucks._ I'll get the next chapter up within the next few days, I promise.


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